Browsing by Subject "White Supremacy"

Tiivistelmä – Referat – Abstract This thesis examines Ta-Nehisi Coates’s autobiographical book Between the World and Me. I investigate the various ways racial hierarchies crush individuals and erode societies. Coates provides a rich and extensive overview of the all-encompassing nature of racism and its devastating impact on the psyche of the victims. The act of resistance is a central theme – the only way to reclaim one’s basic humanity is to resist the forces of white supremacy. This thesis analyzes the various ways oppression and resistance are represented in Coates’s writing. I combine a close reading of Coates’s work with various theories and ideas sampled from different disciplines. Since Between the World and Me is a male-centered text exploring the father-son relationship, I investigate structural racism and systemic violence through the lens of the criminal justice system. Black men are especially victimized by this form of oppression. I investigate police brutality using critical race theory, and I examine how Black men have been criminalized for centuries. This supposed “criminality” and “danger” has been the primary justification for oppressive social control in the form of draconian laws and extra-judicial punishments. Khalil Gibran Muhammad’s work in this sphere was particularly useful. I also rely on many primary sources ranging from newspaper articles stretching back to 1914, and first-hand accounts of prison labor. In addition, I examine the destructive effects of racism on the human psyche through studies published in journals of psychology. This thesis also explores questions of “othering” and cultural imperialism through postcolonial theory. My analysis demonstrates that oppression appears in various forms in Between the World and Me. However, I claim that Coates’s resistance is highly personal and particularized. There is no collective call to action. The struggle is not political, but rather existential and metaphysical in nature. Coates reclaims a sense of identity separate from the narratives imposed by a racist society. It is through this struggle that Coates finds meaning and agency in his life. Coates cannot control the color of his skin or the social/historical circumstances of his birth, but he can control how he responds to them. And for Coates, the only appropriate response is resistance. It is a precondition for maintaining one’s sanity in the face of overwhelming oppression.